duled for the week ahead as members of Congress left Washington this past weekend for the annual Fourth of July recess. Each recess is typically met with at least a couple of media stories about how it is ill-timed or even undeserved vacation. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking it’s a vacation. Last week, Roll Call, the pre-eminent publication for Capitol Hill and everyone who follows it closely, highlighted some findings from a Congressional Management Foundation survey about members’ work habits and how they spend time on recess.

Female entrepreneurs in the United States benefit from more than just their own personal strengths and aspirations—they also benefit from an environment that is more open to women-led startups than any other country in the world. A new index released last month in Turkey at the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network conference compared 17 countries across 30 indicators that foster high-potential entrepreneurship. For those hoping for a silver bullet issue to focus policy efforts, there isn’t one.

It is going to be a busy week in Washington, especially on the House side. The House Judiciary Committee has two days devoted to markup of a couple pieces of legislation – H.R. 1772 (the Legal Workforce Act) and H.R. 2131 (the Supplying Knowledge-based Immigrants and Lifting Levels of STEM Visas Act) – that focus on tighter employment verification and expanding H1-B visas. Of particular interest to those in the startup space might be the House Small Business Committee hearing on how mobile medical app entrepreneurs are changing the future of health care. Meanwhile, the Joint Economic Committee examines “smarter regulations.” Other topics include: impact of Obamacare on U.S. businesses, energy jobs, wireless technology and the history of minimum wage.

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship was recently recognized as the top university business incubator in the world—beating out 150 incubators from 22 countries. The Houston-based incubator from Rice University led the charge as 15 U.S. universities dominated the top 25.

If you thought the immigration debate in Congress was going to be smooth sailing, a markup this week in the House Judiciary Committee promises a choppier course. Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte has scheduled a markup for the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement (SAFE) Act—a strict enforcement bill that could change the tenor of discussions. Other topics slated to be covered in hearings this week include: advanced manufacturing, energy priorities and opportunities for small business, STEM education, reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act, health costs and economic recovery in Zimbabwe.

Where do millionaires get their fortunes? Passed down from generation-to-generation through family inheritance? Wrong. A new report from Barclay’s examines recent shifts in the creation of wealth and finding that in established economies long-established models of inheritance have given way to entrepreneurial activity as the preeminent source.

The White House is hoping to address the skyrocketing number of patent infringement lawsuits with a new series of executive actions and legislative priorities targeted at so-called ‘patent trolls.’ According to a new report by the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, National Economic Council and Office of Science & Technology Policy, the total number of patent cases has nearly doubled in the past seven years. More alarming is the fact that in that same amount of time, the number of suits filed by patent-trolls—companies that own patents for the sole purpose of litigating to receive license fees—has more than tripled to 62% of all cases.

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